Susan Stair is an environmental artist based in New York City. Her large-scale art installations are created with clay impressions of live tree bark incorporating mosaic landscapes. Stair also produces smaller ceramics and works on paper that illustrate recently published scientific findings. Her work is informed by her ongoing study of trees and their impact on the environment.
Stair has produced five public art installations in NYC Parks since 2016. Most recently “Setting the Stage for Climate Change”, was installed in Morningside Park until August 2024. “Ascending the Mountain”, 2021, was installed in 3 sections in Marcus Garvey Park, each telling how a few trees grew on a solid rock mountain to become an urban forest. The first section illustrates the roots pushing the schist rock, the second explains photosynthesis and the cooling of the air, to the gold and green celebration of the tree canopy. Viewers find themselves at the top of the mountain of Manhattan Schist looking out into the tree canopy.
Her permanent installations include “By the Water”, 2009, a commission for the NYC Construction Department Sites for Students program installed in PS 189x in the Bronx. Parkadon Development Corporation commissioned “Returning to the River”, 2018, installed in the lobby of 70 West 139th St. in Harlem.
Stair has exhibited her smaller works in the United States and Asia where she lived for many years. “The Wood Wide Web” was a solo exhibition at Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, NJ.
Exhibitions in Asia include Galleria Duemilla, PI, the US Embassy in Manila, The Fringe Gallery in Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Cultural Center, and the Tokyo Design Center, Japan.
Originally from Philadelphia she holds an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Delaware.
Statement
My work addresses “Plant Blindness”. I draw, print, paint and take clay impressions of live tree bark, leaves, and buds. Trees are living witnesses to history and their bark displays race, age, damage and endurance. As I combine, layer, and fuse materials I rediscover my own connection to the forests.
The forests are the best if not the only answer to the climate crisis currently operating since they clean the air, regulate water and cleanse the earth.
www.susanstair.com, [email protected], https://facebook.com/SusanStair, https://instagram.com/SusanStair
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